Grade 6 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 4, Lesson 1

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A Message of Ancient Days

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 4, Lesson 1: Uncovering Clues to Our Past (pp. 90-95)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Culture Archaeologists use a variety of scientific methods to understand and interpret the lives of the earliest humans.

Review with students the bones and fossils that archaeologists use to figure out the lives of early humans. Discuss how brain size and tools found with fossils help archaeologists.

Explain that the Ice Age had warmer and colder periods. Use the map on page 95 to review how the colder periods affected human migration all over the world.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Ask students to write a paragraph describing early human history to someone who knows nothing about it. Encourage them to include: where humans first appeared, how they have changed over time, and where and how they have moved around the planet.
Give students an outline map of the world. Have them use different colors to show what the continents would look like if glaciers formed today and what the continents would look like if present-day glaciers melted.

Social Studies Center | Houghton Mifflin Social Studies | Grade 6 Home
Education Place | Site Index

You may download, print, and make copies of Lesson at a Glance pages for use in your classroom, provided that you include the copyright notice shown below on all such copies.